Magister Prendergast graduated from the University of Raslowe's School of Neoteric Experimentation with a degree in Ætheric Metaphysicks. This means he specializes in the science of True Magik - he's interested in how magik works, and in exploring the limits of human ability to manipulate it. He wants to study and observe sites of reputed magikal power (ley lines, Consortium Arches, Fae circles, etc.) and develop theories as to how they might operate. He plans to write theses and papers on these things to deliver before the University, but if he were under a TRUTH spell, he would have to admit that the real reason he wants to do these things is because he wants to see the world. If he can enjoy being outdoors, getting a bit of physical activity in, and make some sketches of flora, fauna, and people he meets while pursuing his scholarly goals, then so much the better.
Prendergast's birth name is Winstone Panderwagon the Younger. His father, Winstone the Elder, is a slick con-man-turned-merchant who oversees a small fleet of cart-based peddlers in the city of Raslowe. His grandfather, Old Winstone, started the business out of his own wagon (thus, the family name). The Panderwagon venture is part of the Guild of Peddlers and Street-Hawkers, of which Winstone the Elder became Guildmaster. With his new position, he intended to increase the prestige of his family (which was still looked down upon by other mercantile guilds due to its "low class, low cost" offerings) and so borrowed a great deal of money against his business to enroll his son at the University of Raslowe. Fortunately for him, Winstone the Younger had the talent for magik and a sharp mind, and so was admitted to the school.
Formal magikal instruction changed young Winstone - who chose the name Prendergast as his official magician's name (a common, if not universally-practiced tradition at the University) - and made him realize that there was a great big world outside of the oldclothes and cookpot-selling business. By the time he graduated, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to avoid returning to his father's guild to work as a glorified clerk. Claiming that he was embarking to fulfill University interests while earning money to pay back his tuition loans, he left his family behind and began to wander the open roads of Xaria.
At this point in time, Prendergast has a romantic view of the world and has yet to be seriously hurt by his naivete. As a result, he has a very positive attitude and friendly manner with strangers, even though his social skills are nowhere near as polished as his father's. Indeed, he has always been overshadowed by his loquacious father, and being surrounded exclusively by magikal students over the last few years has resulted in a degree of social retardation.
He is beginning to see that there will be a lot of hard work involved in earning those funds, however. After several unsuccessful attempts to find work as an Æthyric Metaphysicist (most have no idea what he's talking about, and those few that do find him fairly useless, given the fact that he's only just graduated from the University and can teach them nothing more than they already know), he began to bill himself as "Prendergast the Prestidigitator," a magician-entertainer. Unfortunately, he possesses very few abilities that have the capacity to entertain (no one is excited by the sight of a man reading and writing, no matter how foreign the script), so now he generally limits himself to working as a common scribe. It's a meager income, but it's more than he was making before. In the meantime, he keeps his ears open for those who might need the services of a wizard-at-large.
Prendergast's birth name is Winstone Panderwagon the Younger. His father, Winstone the Elder, is a slick con-man-turned-merchant who oversees a small fleet of cart-based peddlers in the city of Raslowe. His grandfather, Old Winstone, started the business out of his own wagon (thus, the family name). The Panderwagon venture is part of the Guild of Peddlers and Street-Hawkers, of which Winstone the Elder became Guildmaster. With his new position, he intended to increase the prestige of his family (which was still looked down upon by other mercantile guilds due to its "low class, low cost" offerings) and so borrowed a great deal of money against his business to enroll his son at the University of Raslowe. Fortunately for him, Winstone the Younger had the talent for magik and a sharp mind, and so was admitted to the school.
Formal magikal instruction changed young Winstone - who chose the name Prendergast as his official magician's name (a common, if not universally-practiced tradition at the University) - and made him realize that there was a great big world outside of the oldclothes and cookpot-selling business. By the time he graduated, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to avoid returning to his father's guild to work as a glorified clerk. Claiming that he was embarking to fulfill University interests while earning money to pay back his tuition loans, he left his family behind and began to wander the open roads of Xaria.
At this point in time, Prendergast has a romantic view of the world and has yet to be seriously hurt by his naivete. As a result, he has a very positive attitude and friendly manner with strangers, even though his social skills are nowhere near as polished as his father's. Indeed, he has always been overshadowed by his loquacious father, and being surrounded exclusively by magikal students over the last few years has resulted in a degree of social retardation.
He is beginning to see that there will be a lot of hard work involved in earning those funds, however. After several unsuccessful attempts to find work as an Æthyric Metaphysicist (most have no idea what he's talking about, and those few that do find him fairly useless, given the fact that he's only just graduated from the University and can teach them nothing more than they already know), he began to bill himself as "Prendergast the Prestidigitator," a magician-entertainer. Unfortunately, he possesses very few abilities that have the capacity to entertain (no one is excited by the sight of a man reading and writing, no matter how foreign the script), so now he generally limits himself to working as a common scribe. It's a meager income, but it's more than he was making before. In the meantime, he keeps his ears open for those who might need the services of a wizard-at-large.
Prendergast's Journal - Beginning May 509